Page 28 of Bewicched

“There you are.” Mom handed me a cup and sat in my chair. Power move. “Now, tell me why you were in the ocean and all about this wolf.”

She took a sip, waiting for me to fill in the blanks, which, of course, I did. She might be a pain in my ass, but she was the defacto head of the Corey family for a reason. She was shrewd, ruthless, and very powerful.

When I finished, she placed her empty cup on the table and considered. “It can’t be connected to the demon you did a job for. That curse was placed there long before you located his banshee.”

“They have names,” I groused.

“I’m sure they do, and those names have nothing to do with this conversation. Why does someone want you gone but not dead?” she mused.

“We don’t know not dead.” I got up to get us more tea.

“Of course we do. The fetish was spelled to send you far away, not kill you.” She nodded her thanks as I filled her cup.

“I was abducted in England.”

She pursed her lips. “Don’t be dramatic. Wrong place, wrong time in England.”

It’s always nice when your mom thinks you’re neither interesting nor important enough for anyone to steal.

“What’s to be gained by getting rid of you?” She stared out the window, thinking. “There’s the Council, of course. Someone may want your position.”

“They can have it,” I muttered.

Shetskedand put down her cup. “You’ve never fully appreciated the power and responsibility that comes with the position. Yes, your grandmother and I could have chosen someone else as our third years ago. The fact of the matter is, though, that I don’t trust any of them as I do you.”

The shock must have shown on my face.

Mom rolled her eyes. “For goodness’ sake, Arwyn, you’re one of the most powerful wicches this family has ever produced, and that’s no mean feat. Plus, your father’s fae blood has only enhanced your formidable gifts. I admire strength and power, and you have both—”

“Aww—”

“But—”

“Here we go,” I said under my breath.

“But,” she repeated, “you don’t have the arrogance that often accompanies those two attributes, which is what makes you trustworthy. Others, with a more flexible moral code, could easily be manipulated for information or, worse yet, to use the secrets we’re privy to on the Council to target others. To prey on them and bleed them dry.”

“You think I’m powerfulandnot evil? Mom, youdolike me!” I pretended to wipe tears from under my eyes while she shook her head.

“The curse could definitely be Council-related,” she insisted.

“Or it could just be someone who thinks I’m an asshole.”

She stood and brushed off her skirt. “We’ll need to hope that’s not it. The list of suspects would be endless.” She glanced out the window again where Declan was framing the new deck. “I don’t like the way that one was looking at you.”

“There’s nothing going on there.” Though I did have the best sleep of my life touching him. Nah, she didn’t need to know that.

“I’m not blind, my darling girl. I know heat when I see it. Remember, the last time a Corey tried to go against the family and marry a wolf, misery followed.”

13

This Tentacle Isn’t Going to Seal Itself

After my mother left, I went to the corner where I was corralling my tentacles to grab the one that needed sealant. I unlocked the wheels on my worktable, rolled it out of the way, put down a tarp, and then dragged out modified sawhorses from the kiln room.

The sawhorses each had a long, curved strap of metal attached to the top that went up on the edges to keep the tentacles from rolling off. I placed them about ten feet apart and then moved the thirty-foot tentacle into place. Once I’d turned on a fan, I went to open the back door and found heat. Mom was rarely ever wrong.

Declan stood on a board, his hand poised to knock on the glass door.

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